Business

Women's gains in Wisconsin boardrooms stall

The percentage of women on Wisconsin corporate boards of directors increased steadily from 2003 to 2011 — from 9% to more than 14% at the 50 largest companies — but has remained largely unchanged since then, according to a new report from Milwaukee Women inc., an organization for professional women.

Women made up 14.3% of directors on Wisconsin's 50 largest publicly traded companies this year, on par with 2012, the report said.

Milwaukee Women inc. set a goal in 2002 for public companies to have 25% of the directors be women by 2014, and the organization says it will continue to act as a resource to chief executive officers and nominating committees.

Going forward, the percentage figure may have to be adjusted, said Phyllis King, chair of Milwaukee Women inc. and associate vice chancellor of academic affairs at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

"We need to be realistic," King said, noting that Wisconsin is close to the national average for gender diversity in the boardroom and executive offices.

In 2014, the organization will strive to make more of a business case for increasing gender diversity. Research has shown, for example, that companies with diverse management have higher performance levels.

Eight of the 50 companies had 25% or more female directors, the report noted. The number of companies with at least one female director increased from 32 in 2003 to 38 this year.

Twelve companies on the list had no women as directors, and eight of those also had no female executives defined as the executive officers published in the company's annual report.

About Rick Barrett

Rick Barrett covers manufacturing, telecom and agriculture. He has received Best in Business awards from the Society of American Business Editors and Writers and was co-recipient of a Barlett & Steele award for investigative business journalism.